Assistance
by AZillionLittleStars
Summary: ...because everyone needs a little help sometimes. {Fluffy little one-shot.}


**Title**- Assistance

**Summary**- Everyone needs a little fall back plan sometimes. {Percy/Annabeth, other canon pairings. One-shot.} This doesn't not necessarily line up with House of Hades, so there shouldn't be any real spoilers.

**Word Count**-

**Rating**- T, just because I don't know what else to rate it.

**Disclaimer**- I don't own Percy Jackson or anything recognizable. {Did you really think I did?}

**Author's Note**- So this is a fluffy one-shot {I guess}, featuring a perfect little ending of the series. {Ooops?} Okay, so anyways I've always kind of seen Percy and Annabeth as the Mommy and Daddy of the seven, and somehow this happened. Feedback is great!

Before you say it, yes I know there is no Frank and Piper. Sorry. I'm just not sure how to write their character very well, and I'm still practicing.

Anywho, I hope you enjoy it! (:

**Related Song**- Never Grow Up by Taylor Swift.

* * *

**Leo**

As a child of Athena, Annabeth was very disappointed that she hadn't seen it before. Or maybe that's why her mother disowned her and sent her on a ridiculous solo quest to find the Mark of Athena that would probably lead to her death. It made a lot of sense really.

Herself and Percy, Hazel and Frank, Piper and Jason, and then there is Leo. Then in her dreams, Gaea was always cryptically speaking about on of them joining her. The seventh wheel.

Leo was the seventh wheel.

::

Sitting in the dining room, everyone was finishing their meals. Percy snuck out to avoid getting stuck on dishes duty, so Annabeth was left to ponder in her thoughts. The room was slowly emptying- leaving Annabeth and Leo. Leo was about to leave when Annabeth caught his attention. He turned around, startled about _why the scary blonde chick wanted to talk to him_.

"Umm..yeah?"

"How's it going?" She asked innocently, silently motioning for him to come sit next to her. Leo's fingertips caught on fire due to his nervousness. He was freaking terrified of Annabeth. It's not like they were friends or anything, even after designing and building the Argo II together. Yet, here she was. Asking him how it was going like they were friends for years.

"Fine..." He replied, itching to run while he can. Annabeth raised her eyebrows, and gave him the look of_ I know you are lying and I will rip you to pieces if you don't tell me_. Leo slid into the seat next to her, careful to not set it on fire. "..how are you?"

Annabeth laughed. Leo was relieved that it did not sound like a evil-maniac laugh, and instead sounded like his mother when Leo would knock something over when she was baking cookies.

"I'm just dandy."

Leo didn't know if he was supposed to respond to that, so he decided against it. They sat in silence until Annabeth spoke up again.

"You know...no matter what Gaea or anyone else thinks...you aren't the seventh wheel."

Leo was so shocked at first, he didn't know what to think. How did _she_ know about that?

Sure, she was a genius, but Leo didn't know she was a mindreader.

"I-I..." Leo stuttered, but Annabeth didn't even seem to notice.

"Listen. When I was seven, I ran away since my family hated me. I found a new family, with Luke and Thalia."

_Thalia...as in Jason's sister_?

"Unfortunately, Thalia got turned into tree. And...Luke turned into Kronos." Leo had no idea why she was telling _him_ this. If this was supposed to be a pep talk, it was as good as Coach Hedge's singing.

"O-Okay."

Annabeth laughed again, which didn't help Leo's nerves.

"The point is...Luke planned on destroying the world and Olympus because he didn't feel loved. I don't want you to feel that way, okay?"

"Y-yeah." Leo stammered out.

"I may not be great at motivational speeches, but I am a pretty good listener." Annabeth stood up and walked away, like nothing ever happened.

{Leo stopped being angry at his friends for being in relationships.}

* * *

**Nico**

Nico couldn't sleep.

Every time he tried, Tartarus always came flooding into his mind. He was so desperate that he tried shadow-traveling to pass out, and it worked for a little while. However, he was woken up by a horrendous nightmare that everything was wrong- because of him. It was silly, since it was only a nightmare. Percy and Annabeth were in the infirmary. Not in Tartarus anymore.

Yet, some part of him couldn't let go of the fact that they had _barely_ saved them. When they met them at the Doors of Death, Nico could feel Annabeth's aura fading, Percy's not to far behind. Annabeth used her last ounce of energy to outsmart a Cyclopes into ramming the doors shut.

Nico wanted to talk to Hazel, but her and Piper were usually busy tending to Percy and Annabeth- and there was no way Nico was going to face them.

Deciding to go up on deck to keep watch, Nico tiptoed his way through the hallway. Nico was currently borrowing Leo's room, since he usually slept in the engine room anyways. There was no sound coming from the other cabins so Nico assumed to coast was clear.

Oh how wrong he was.

When he reached the deck, Nico recognized a frail figure leaning heavily against the railing.

"Annabeth?!"

Annabeth's head darted around like she was ready to attack something. Her tensed shoulders still didn't un-tense when she recognized him.

"Oh, hey Nico." She said, turning back around, because it was totally normal to be half-dead and standing out in the cold during the middle of the night.

Nico stood there awkwardly, resisting the urge to shadow travel to China.

"Hi?"

And silence was brought upon them. After a stretch of the eerie quiet, Annabeth spoke up.

"I'm not Bianca." She stated.

Nico was taking back. Out of all the things she could say, that is what she chose? Of course she wasn't Bianca. Nico planned on asking her if she was alright. Instead, it just came out as a mumbled "mhhm".

"But I know." Annabeth continued, her knuckles white from holding on to the railing.

She knew what?

"I know about Tartarus."

She never looked away from the sky.

"I was there."

She admitted, like it was finally sinking in.

"And, I know. It gets in your head, and you can't get out. You think you are going crazy, but maybe you already were crazy, right?"

Nico's eyes widened. That was _precisely_ it.

"Right." Nico agreed.

For the first time in their conversation, Annabeth made eye contact with him.

"But you're not alone. And you never will be." Annabeth said.

{Nico might have felt a little special, but don't tell anyone that.}

Annabeth turned to face him, and Nico thought she was going to fall over. Instead, she asked him a question.

"Can I hug you?"

No one had hugged him in a long time, besides Hazel. Maybe deep down, Nico hated Annabeth.

But right now however, he was busy hugging her.

Then Percy stumbled up on deck, searching for Annabeth. He greeted Nico, and carefully carried {much against Annabeth's protests} back to the sick bay.

{Nico didn't have any nightmares that night.}

* * *

**Jason**

Percy heard Jason shuffle into his cabin.

1) Because it was way past curfew and everything else was dead silent.

2) Jason was walking like he was carrying the weight of the sky on his shoulders. {Percy wasn't exaggerating, he had been there.}

"Percy? Are you awake?" Jason whispered.

"I am now!" Percy groaned, fumbling with the lamp next to his bed. He wasn't a particularly good mood, since he had just got woken up, and Annabeth was still in the Big House working on something with Reyna. {They refused to tell him what they were doing.} He sat up, and Jason stood awkwardly next to the door of the Poseidon cabin. Percy was about to make some sarcastic joke about Jason "sure lightning up the night", but the look on Jason's face stopped him. "What's up, man?"

Jason sighed, and sat on the edge of the fountain.

"I don't know where I belong." Jason deadpanned.

Percy knew what he was talking about- staying at Camp Half-Blood or going back to Camp Jupiter. Percy's decision was easier, he knew his place was at Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth was there, and she didn't have the option to go to Camp Jupiter {with that Minerva business}. However, Jason had a lot bigger of a burden.

"What are you thinking?" Percy asked, while Jason just shook his head.

"I don't know. Part of me wants to stay here, with Piper...and everyone else. But, Camp Jupiter is where I grew up." Jason elaborated, staring longingly at the fountain as if it would show him what decision he should make. His eyes shifted to his SPQR tattoo, with thirteen little stripes on it.

Percy didn't know what to say to comfort his friend, because both camps meant so much to him.

"What does you heart tell you?"

Jason was silent for a long time.

"Stay at Camp Half-Blood, with Piper."

Percy nodded, he had a feeling that was what Jason was going to choose.

Just then, Percy's door slid open again, revealing a very-exhausted looking Annabeth.

"Hi!" She announced, and then noticed Jason. "Hey...Jason."

"Hey, Annabeth!" Percy greeted, making room for Annabeth on his bed. "What are you so happy about?"

"I may..or may not have been eavesdropping on your conversation."

Jason didn't seem to mad, or maybe he wasn't listening.

"And...you won't have to choose." Opening her notebook, showed a rough sketch of a large area.

A large area called Camp Half-Jupiter, a combined camp of both Greek and Roman.

Percy smiled, and waited for Jason to as well. However, he wasn't paying attention.

"JASON!" Percy yelled, taking advantage of being a son of Poseidon, and splashing some of the fountain water on Jason's face.

Oops.

"What?" Jason asked, finally looking at the blueprint. Then he smiled.

{Piper learned Jason sleeping in the fountain and Percy/Annabeth curled up in the same bed the next morning, was wonderful blackmail material.}

* * *

**Hazel**

When Annabeth heard the knocking on her door, she let out an exasperated sigh. Percy wasn't home yet, she was trying to make dinner and work on a new architectural project. Finally reaching the door- Macbook Pro in one hand and a spatula in the other, she managed to pry the door open with her elbows.

"Hazel?" Annabeth asked, looking over the younger girl in front of her. Annabeth instantly knew what Hazel's expression meant- a study-related freak out/possible meltdown.

{Annabeth had the same expression about all year senior year of college.}

Hazel was a senior in high school now, and may have took more AP classes than anyone could handle.

{Annabeth was so proud of her.}

"Annabeth. I don't know what the hades I am supposed to do." Hazel admitted, stepping into the New York apartment. Annabeth set down the stuff she had been juggling, turning her full attention to her friend.

"C'mon in." Annabeth said, gesturing towards the leather couch Percy had insisted on picking out. She stepped into the kitchen, preparing some more of the hot chocolate she had made earlier. Returning to the living room, Annabeth was met with Hazel spreading all kinds of things over the coffee table- notebooks, math textbooks, a calculator, pens and pencils.

Handing her the cocoa, Annabeth plopped down on the couch next to her.

"Alright..what are we studying?"

{Hazel aced her next math test.}

* * *

**_Ta-da! Hope it was okay, and feel free to leave me some comments! (: See you next chapter!_**

**_{Guess who did a ton of writing and no studying? This girl. Whoops.}_**


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